The morning market was built several years after the liberation of the country in the 1950s. Its original location was in the town called Namphou” at present. At that time, the market did not have many commodities to sell, only irrigation products such as vegetables and meat.
Afterward, the market moved to Hatsady Village. It is currently located there, while the old market now serves Indian people. The first Lao-American school was also established in Hatsady Village. In 1954, the morning market consisted of one single-floor building where seafood and irrigation products were the main products sold.
Inside the building, the vendors sold seafood. Outside the building, which is now a parking lot, irrigation products were sold. During this period, industrial products were not sold much, only clothes and Lao silk. There were no gold shops and not many shops in general. The major customers were Lao people. The Kaudin market had not been built yet. It was a place where knights, Indian people, Vietnamese, and some Lao people lived.
However, 1966 was the year that brought calamity to Laos in the form of a flood. The top of the market was flooded, resulting in many people having to evacuate to other places. Shortly after, the situation returned to normal at the morning market. However, the place now known as Kaudin market, which served knights and Indian people in the past, was fired due to a villager’s carelessness.
Afterward, the Lao government built a place for people to sell their products. Like the morning market, Kaudin market had few goods to sell, only irrigation products, and no rooms for selling yet. People sold their products in front of their houses. At that time, both markets had no civilization because it was a period of reliance and self-sufficiency among the Lao people.
The markets are currently thriving since the country’s liberation. The old building was renovated to add an additional floor, and three buildings were constructed on each side of the main building, each containing hundreds of rooms. However, in order to comply with the central politburo’s instruction No. 34/CP regarding the improvement of Vientiane city, further changes may be necessary.
